Mary Lou's Muffins
This tender, moist lemon-blueberry muffin counts on garden-fresh lemon verbena for its essence of herbed citrus. Or, substitute lemon peel. The recipe comes from a community cookbook called Tasteful Garden Treasures, put together by the Taylor Garden Club in Taylor, Michigan.
Smoked Cheddar Muffins
Serve these savory muffins with a hearty soup or stew. Match the topping to complement the tastes and textures of your soup; try sunflower seeds, pine nuts, shredded cheddar cheese, poppy seeds, sesame seeds or roasted red pepper strips.
Double-Flavored Muffins
Pumpkin and chocolate blend beautifully in these spiced muffins from Thorp House Inn of Fish Creek, Wisconsin. Cinnamon, mace, nutmeg and cloves flavor the batter.
Sunflower Pumpkin Muffins
Hailing as they do from the Sunflower State, Kansas cooks have a knack for creatively including crunchy sunflower seed kernels in all sorts of treats. These tender pumpkin morsels are from the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas. The muffins get a double dose of sunflower from both sunflower oil and the seeds.
Maple Oatmeal Muffins
You can taste the maple sweetness in these oatmeal muffins from the Hoosier (Indiana) Maple Syrup Cookbook. Cinnamon and pecans pack the breakfast or snack bread with even more flavor.
Unforgettable muffins
Some muffins were meant to be savored along with a steaming cup of coffee. Here are two created in the Midwest Living® Test Kitchen. A swirl of both cheesecake and brownies is delectable in Fudge Brownie Cheesecake Muffins, and a dab of lemon curd gives a burst of citrus flavor to Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins.
Orange-Nut Muffins
Orange juice flavors these walnut-filled muffins, topped with a glaze of powdered sugar, orange peel and more juice. The recipe comes from Quivey's Grove in Madison, Wisconsin, where diners enjoy a basket of muffins with each meal.
Another orange option: Anytime Orange-Date Muffins, flavored with finely shredded orange peel, orange juice and snipped pitted dates. The orange-date muffins come from Ravenwood Castle in New Plymouth, Ohio.
Streusel-Topped Pumpkin Muffins
We took classic pumpkin bread batter, added some dried fruit, a little lemon peel and some assorted spices, and sprinkled on a crunchy sugar topping.
Sour Cream Cranberry Muffins
Brown sugar, pecans and pumpkin pie spice create both a filling and topping for these muffins. Dried cranberries add a hint of tang and texture.
Bavarian Honey-Bran Muffins
Honey, sugar and raisins sweeten these hearty bran muffins. Serve warm with honey or butter.
Eggnog Muffins
These moist holiday muffins, dressed up with a nutmeg-streusel topping, come from Washington House Inn in Cedarburg, Wisconsin.
Apricot Almond Muffins
Snipped dried apricots, golden raisins, sliced almonds and almond extract combine to create a muffin with a distinctive crunch and flavor. The recipe comes from Diana's Delights in Gaylord, Michigan, near Garland resort.
Badger State Muffins
Shredded apples, chopped cranberries, shredded carrot and nuts pack this cinnamon- and coriander-spiced muffin from the M&M Cafe in Monticello, Wisconsin.
Best Brunch Muffins
A brush of melted butter and a sprinkling of sugar cap these tender berry-filled muffins. The muffins were popular for years on the lunch menu at the former Chesaning Heritage House restaurant in Chesaning, Michigan.
Honey-Rhubarb Muffins
Serve these sugar-topped muffins with Whipped Honey Butter (details on honey butter are at the end of the recipe instructions). Either frozen or fresh rhubarb works well in the muffin recipe.
